BARTON HALL

About 1840 Mr. Armstead Barton built his mansion down in the "Nation"
on the Natchez Trace, near the town of Buzzard Roost. The old mansion
still standing is two stories high with roof garden which was used as an
observatory for watching the negros on the plantation. Underneath is a
solid stone foundation. The porch is of solid stone with large columns
extending to the second floor. The floors of the double parlors and hall
are of solid black walnut, and at the time they were laid were two
inches thick; but when the home passed out of the hands of the original
owners these planks were removed, sawed in two, the one inch planks
replaced and the other half sold. The floors in these rooms were laid
"log cabin style" and were very attractive. The windows for these rooms
cost $100 each. The timber for the mansion was selected in Mississippi
and was drawn by oxen for a distance of two hundred miles and sawed by
hand. Around the walls of the double parlors was a molding of pure gold
leaf, which also was removed long since. There was a double winding
stairs leading to the roof garden.

In its original state, the home had a very large and beautiful lawn
with box-bordered walks to the gate, a distance of a quarter mile, and
drives on each side shaded with cedars. At the rear was a barn large
enough to accommodate fifty horses. The vegetable and flower gardens
were in keeping with other surroundings. The orchard containing all
kinds of luscious fruits covered twenty acres of land.
[From: "Two Hundred Years at Muscle Shoals" by Nina Leftwich, 1935]